Well, after local users being locked out of the local repeater due to non-local traffic tying up both slots, a decision was taken, after considering the facts, to drop a busy DMR-MARC talkgroup from slot 2.
The talkgroup dropped was ‘Uk wide’, ID 235.

But fear not local people, UK wide has not gone from GB7MB – it’s still there, but it’s on slot 1 instead. so please discontinue 235 slot 2 use, (because it wont go anywhere) and fire up your MotoTRBO CPS or CS700 software, and in the UK wide entry, change the drop down to ‘repeater slot 1‘ instead of 2. Users concerned about whether this will still allow inter-UK contacts need not worry, as many other UK DMR repeaters now are changing their UK wide (235) to slot 1 as well, thus ensuring its continuation, while allowing more local slot 2 talkgroups to be almost always free for locals, instead of before, when inbetween overs, TG 235 could rudely jump in to your QSO and effectively elbow you off slot 2 if you politely left ‘too long’ a courtesy gap.

Also GB7MB carries talkgroup 8 now, (on slot 2) talkgroup 8 is a special ‘roaming’ talkgroup and this, in effect, links GB7MB up with other local repeaters GB7HM, GB7LP, GB7PN and GB7NM and shortly this talkgroup will prove to be very useful indeed for the NorthWest of the UK. example codeplugs and tutorials will appear on this website in due course.

Roaming will allow you to drive from up in Cumbria (say), down through this area, down around Manchester, over to Liverpool and much of North Wales without you changing channel – it is automatic, all done in your rig by comparing repeaters ‘roaming beacon’ signal strengths, and switching channels for you accordingly.

Regional talkgroups are important, and the more use that can be made of them, the better, as it reduces traffic on wider area talkgroups, like UK wide, as DMR is essentially a 2 RF channel system, proper and logical assignment of talkgroups & slots is a must if we are to keep the advantages brought to us by TDMA.

Further changes in the UK are likely, as DMR is quite a new thing to amateur radio, and it’s useage will continue to grow, and some talkgroups will turn out to be good ideas, some not, and the hiccups that will surely follow, certainly make this area of the hobby quite interesting.